The Times Dispatch asked the 5th District City Council candidates some questions. Here’s one:

Outside of citywide concerns about schools and basic services, what is the biggest issue facing your district? How do you hope to address it?
Agelasto: We need to create good-paying jobs that are accessible to all our neighborhoods. The city can help cultivate many small entrepreneurial businesses in areas like Hull Street. Carytown has over 4,000 jobs. Let’s spread that success to other areas rather than relying on incentives to corporations.
Magruder: I plan to address the increasing water rates by first requiring the disclosure of the PILOT fee and seeking a possible legal challenge to it. I’ll also seek reductions in the base service charge for unmetered homes as it’s heavily regressive to the poor.
Sawyer: Water utility rates. City of Richmond residents pay more than surrounding counties. In 2013, we saw an increase of $1.63 per CCF of water to $3.21. Waste water changed from $2.59 per CCF to $5.82. We must reduce the service charge in line with other communities and raise the CPU of water.